


Let's Start a Fire

by hope_s



Series: Beautiful Trauma [12]
Category: Ocean's 8 (2018)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Food, Love Confessions, Marriage, Morning Sex, Nervousness, POV Debbie, Romance, Smut, Songfic, Wedding Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 17:24:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20877935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hope_s/pseuds/hope_s
Summary: Debbie can't quite believe that today is real. She likes plans and predictability, and this – marrying Lou, marrying anyone at all – has definitely not been in her plans, not for most of her life anyway. It has been – it is – the happiest surprise of her life – to know that she is choosing Lou and that Lou is choosing her.In a theoretical and romantic way, Debbie wants the whole world to know how much she loves Lou, but her stomach knots at the thought of actually speaking all of what she feels to a room full of people. Cold criminal masterminds aren't cut out for these emotions, so she'll tell Lou in private first, whisper all the things she's afraid she'll never be able to say because - after all - Lou is the only one who really needs to hear them...





	Let's Start a Fire

**Author's Note:**

> P!nk: Beautiful Trauma  
(2017)  
Track 11 - I Am Here
> 
> ...
> 
> I open up my heart  
You can love me or not  
There's no such thing as sin  
Let it all come right in  
I wanna make some mistakes, I wanna sleep in the mud  
I wanna swim in the flood, I wanna fuck 'til I'm done  
I like whiskey on ice, I like sun in my eyes  
I wanna burn it all down, so let's start a fire  
I wanna be lost, so lost that I'm found  
Naked and laughing with my blood on the ground
> 
> I am here, I am here  
I've already seen the bottom, so there's nothing to fear  
I know that I'll be ready when the devil is near
> 
> I am here, I am here  
All of this wrong, but I'm still right here  
I don't have the answers, but the questions is clear
> 
> Let me ask you  
Where does everybody going when they go (x3)  
Let me ask you
> 
> ...
> 
> May the light be upon me  
May I feel in my bones that I am enough  
I can make anywhere home  
My fingers are clenched, my stomach in knots  
My heart it is racing, but afraid I am not  
Afraid I am not
> 
> ...
> 
> (Spring 2019)

Debbie knew that Lou loved the bagels from the deli three blocks from the loft. She also knew that – while the deli opened at 6 am – Lou was seldom awake before 9 am, and therefore missed out on some of the more coveted varieties. Brooklyn was quiet on Saturday mornings – as quiet as it ever was – and Debbie savored it. Today, the weather was foggy, and she passed like a shadow along the empty streets. Her tan Burberry trench-coat snapped around her calves as she walked, and her block heels tapped a muffled rhythm along the concrete.

It was still a little early, so Debbie took a meandering route and stopped by the cemetery. The gates had just been opened, and in the fog, the cemetery took on a very literally ghostly appearance. The mausoleum was empty, and though she hadn’t really expected anyone, Debbie still felt a pang of disappointment. She hadn’t brought her usual martini, nor any flowers, with her today. The stones were cold, and Debbie knew she wouldn’t stay long. Today of all days, Debbie had thought that maybe, _maybe _there would be _something_.

“I’m getting married today,” she said after a few minutes of silence. The words bounced back to her off of Danny’s name. “I hope you show up.” She sighed and reached out to run a finger lightly over Danny’s name. “Lou and I brought you an invitation a while back, but it’s been gone for months now, and I know it was probably Reuben that took it, but still…” Debbie trailed off with a shrug. “I hope you show up,” she repeated more quietly this time, almost to herself. “And if not…” Her voice was stronger again, and she fixed the name on the wall with a glare. “…well, you better be in there, because if you’re not, I’m pretty sure my _wife_…” She emphasized the word proudly. “…will kick your ass.”

Debbie turned on her heel and left the mausoleum without another word, adjusting the strap on Danny’s watch around her wrist as she went. She couldn’t quite believe that today was real. Debbie liked plans and predictability, and this – marrying Lou, marrying anyone at all – had _definitely _not been in her plans, not for most of her life anyway. It had been – it _was _– the happiest surprise of her life – to know that she was choosing Lou and that Lou was choosing her. It took her aback every time she thought about it, and Debbie’s pace along the sidewalk quickened. It was just past 6 am now, and she wanted to get her bagels and get home to Lou. _Lou_. She wondered how many times she would walk this route in the coming years and decades. It made her shiver slightly to think about it. _We get to do this for the rest of our lives_, Lou had said the night that Debbie had proposed as she tugged Debbie into their bedroom. _We don’t need rings or a marriage license to do _this_ for the rest of our lives, _Debbie had pointed out with a smirk, but Lou had silenced her with a finger to her lips. _Forever, Jailbird_, Lou had insisted softly and firmly. _Forever_. Even Debbie couldn’t think of a sarcastic response to _that_.

_The rest of our lives_. Debbie tried to imagine what that would look like. She was good at imagining things – she had planned the entire Met Job in her head, for God’s sake, and she was working on a Honeymoon Heist idea now. Still, she wasn’t a prophet. She couldn’t imagine little things like what they would have for dinner next Thursday, or what flavor of ice cream she would choose on her upcoming birthday (or next year, or the year after that). She wasn’t even sure which scent of perfume she would choose for Lou’s birthday in less than two weeks. The little things – the things that were hers and Lou’s alone, that didn’t belong to a job or to the personas they showed to the world – those things would fill the remaining decades of their lives, and Debbie couldn’t foresee them. To her lasting amazement, she found that she didn’t _want _to foresee them, though sometimes it was fun to imagine herself and Lou growing old together, conning the world to their final breaths. Before that though, there was the actual business of the _wedding_ to get through, and Debbie couldn’t deny the anxious excitement that shot through her at the thought of it.

The rising sun was beginning to burn through the first layer of the fog when Debbie arrived at the deli and collected their bagels: pumpernickel for herself, sesame for Lou. Walking back to the loft, she tried not to think about the coming evening. In a theoretical and romantic way, she _wanted _the world – or, in this case, the very small number of people attending their wedding – to know how much she loved Lou and everything else that was supposed to go in a wedding vow. Truthfully however, she was dreading it. Her stomach knotted at the thought of actually speaking all of what she felt to a room full of people. It was hard enough to say everything she felt just to Lou herself, let alone anyone else. She didn’t want to seem cold or sarcastic. She wanted – at the very least – to be the Debbie she was with Lou. She wanted to be the Debbie she herself was proud of, but _oh_, it was going to take everything she had to get through it. Logically, she knew there was nothing to be afraid of, but it didn’t stop her palms from beginning to sweat as she sped up, eager to get back to the loft and show Lou that – whatever came out of her mouth tonight – she loved her more than anything else, and she wanted desperately and completely to be her wife.

**

Debbie made two cups of tea before climbing the stairs to the upper floor of the loft and walking quietly to their bedroom. Lou – as Debbie had expected – was still fast asleep. She was lying on her left side with her nose buried in the edge of Debbie’s vacant pillow, breathing slowly and deeply. Debbie nearly swooned at the sight of her. The pale light of the early, foggy morning seeped in like a shimmering veil, and Debbie’s nerves dissipated as she looked at Lou. Not for the first time, she had forgotten that Lou would be right there with her through all of it – the vows, the rings, the stupid song that Constance was insisting on performing. It was easy for Debbie to get caught up in her own anxieties and forget that the whole point of this _wedding _thing was that Lou would be beside her the whole time. It would still be hard, but maybe if she kept her eyes on Lou and ignored everything else, she would be able to do it. Maybe. 

Debbie set the cups of tea on each of their bedside tables and put the bag from the deli near the end of the bed. After pulling off her jeans and blouse, Debbie slipped under the covers facing Lou, nestling into her warmth. Lou’s breath hitched almost imperceptibly as Debbie’s foot ran up her leg. Debbie smiled as Lou’s eyelids fluttered, and she leaned forward to press a soft kiss to Lou’s cheek.

“Hey,” she murmured, breath ruffling Lou’s bangs.

Lou hummed softly and her lips moved, but she didn’t open her eyes. Overwhelming affection made Debbie’s head spin. She stroked a hand over Lou’s shoulder and down her side.

“I brought breakfast, baby,” Debbie whispered before planting a kiss to the corner of Lou’s mouth.

Lou hummed again, a little louder this time.

Debbie laughed softly and ran her fingers through Lou’s hair. “You know what today is?” she asked after a pause.

Lou’s mouth twitched into a smile and a pinkish blush rose in her cheeks. Her lips parted slightly. She mumbled something, but all Debbie caught was the word “you.”

Debbie laughed again and leaned forward to brush her lips over Lou’s. Lou responded with the faintest hint of pressure against Debbie’s mouth.

“Hi,” Lou mumbled almost inaudibly when they broke apart, eyes flickering open at last. 

“Hi, baby,” Debbie replied through a smirk.

Lou’s eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled at Debbie. “You look nice,” Lou said in a sleep-heavy voice. “Bit early for make-up, though, isn’t it?” She wiped a thumb under Debbie’s right eye, no doubt fixing a smudge of eyeliner.

“I got bagels.”

Lou’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Yeah,” Debbie replied with a shrug. “Special occasion and all that.”

Lou chuckled softly and pushed herself into a seated position. Her eyes traveled over the cup of tea on her bedside table and the deli bag at the end of the bed. “Thanks, honey,” she said, leaning over to kiss Debbie firmly and briefly.

**

Half an hour later, Debbie was happily picking crumbs off the comforter as Lou made an argument – not for the first time – against Debbie drinking tea without milk in it. “The tannin doesn't have any nutritional value without milk,” Lou was saying, “that’s what my mum told me, and—”

Debbie leaned forward and kissed her, cutting off the end of her sentence as she pressed Lou backwards onto the mattress and straddled her hips. Lou hummed in surprise, but her hands tangled in Debbie’s hair nonetheless, tugging just enough to send a shiver down Debbie’s spine.

“So, I convinced you?” Lou asked lightly as she broke the kiss to breathe.

Debbie scoffed. “Shut up.” She nipped at Lou’s jaw before returning to her mouth and running her tongue along Lou’s upper lip. Lou relaxed under her, and her hands moved down Debbie’s back and past her hips. Debbie moaned into Lou’s mouth as Lou squeezed hard over the lacy fabric of her underwear. Lou’s hands had a way of making Debbie’s thoughts go blurry, and she rolled her hips into Lou’s abdomen, chasing any friction she could find.

“Mm hmm…I _definitely _convinced you,” Lou noted breathlessly as Debbie removed her lips from Lou’s mouth and licked down her neck.

“I lost track of the conversation five minutes ago,” Debbie murmured in Lou’s ear before sucking her ear lobe into her mouth and feeling a swell of pride at the whine that escaped from Lou’s throat as she did so.

Lou let out an overexaggerated gasp of surprise. “Rude!”

“Couldn’t help it,” Debbie said, attempting to sound matter-of-fact but groaning slightly as Lou’s hands sank even lower down her backside and grazed the edge of her arousal. She flicked her tongue over a sensitive spot on Lou’s neck again in response, reminding herself that today was not a good day to leave marks. She hadn’t yet seen Lou’s wedding attire and wasn’t sure how much coverage the outfit would provide. Knowing Lou, it would probably be provocative as hell.

Lou hummed an interested sound in response to Debbie’s words. “And why’s that, Jailbird?” she asked innocently. Her hands slipped up Debbie’s back once more as Debbie shifted down her body. 

Debbie looked up from the trail of kisses she was leaving down Lou’s throat and over her chest. She caught her eye just as she let her breath float over Lou’s left nipple. Lou’s eyelids fluttered, and she arched her back under Debbie. “You’re too sexy,” Debbie said simply just before her lips closed around Lou’s nipple.

“Good to kn—” Lou interrupted herself with a groan as Debbie grazed her teeth over Lou’s skin. “Good to know my opinions are appreciated as much as my body,” she finished sarcastically.

Debbie grinned against the underside of Lou’s breast. “Why do you think I’m marrying you, baby? Your brilliant mind deserves the best.”

Lou looked hard at her and moved her right hand to push Debbie’s hair affectionately out of her face. “You_ really_ mean that don’t you, honey?”

Debbie blushed, pleased that a loving truth had slipped out in the midst of the banter. “Yeah,” she answered softly, resting her cheek against Lou’s ribs. “I really do.”

Lou’s eyes grew a little watery as she passed her hand through Debbie’s hair once more. “I love you,” she said, matching the tenderness of Debbie’s tone.

Debbie smiled and moved back up Lou’s body, adjusting their position so she could lie fully on top of her, legs interlocked and chests pressed close together. “Even if I don’t put milk in my tea?” Debbie asked with a wink.

Lou pretended to think hard about it, letting her head fall back on the pillow and her eyes travel up to the sky. When she looked back at Debbie a second later, the wateriness of her eyes had been replaced by a mischievous twinkle. “Yeah, I think you’ve won me over.” She sighed and shrugged.

Debbie kissed Lou properly again, allowing the moment of affection between them to bloom into something deeper. Debbie’s mind was racing in a pleasant sort of way. Her body was tingling with pleasure, but something about the fond look in Lou’s eye had sharpened her thoughts without dulling the edge of her arousal. It was sensual and seductive and poignant all at once, and she felt compelled to speak.

“Lou,” she said urgently, pulling back from Lou’s lips to meet her eyes. She caressed her face. “Lou, we’re…we’re getting married today.”

Lou smiled. “I know, Debs. Pretty wild, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I…I never really thought that I’d…well…” She trailed off, collecting her thoughts as her fingers traced the contours of Lou’s face, Lou’s neck, Lou’s chest.

“Tell me?” Lou prompted softly, the faintest hint of a question in her voice – an invitation. 

“I’m not sure I’m going to be able to say everything I need to say…you know…tonight.” Debbie propped herself on her right elbow and looked between their bodies to watch her own finger trace a spiraling pattern on Lou’s ribs. Lou was quiet except for the occasional hitch of her breath when Debbie grazed a sensitive spot. Debbie knew she was waiting for her to go on. “But there are things I _need _to say,” Debbie finally said through a sigh. She looked up at Lou and tilted her head. “So…” She went on with a half-smile. “…listen closely, baby.”

“Tell me,” Lou said again. Her tone was encouraging and firm this time. “Tell me.”

Debbie took a deep breath. She raised herself onto her hands and leaned down to kiss the hollow of Lou’s throat, her collarbones, her sternum. Then, she looked up at her. “You are the only person who keeps up with my plans and who doesn’t take my bullshit.”

Lou grinned and winked. She bit her lip as Debbie sucked on her right nipple without breaking eye contact. Debbie felt a shiver run through Lou, from her shoulders to her toes. 

“You make me feel like I’m…” Debbie sought for the right word. “…enough.” Debbie licked down Lou’s stomach, circling her navel and then continuing lower. 

Lou’s brow creased slightly in a deeply understanding way. Debbie smiled against the skin covering Lou’s left hip bone. She nibbled across to the other hip and sucked a red mark just inside it. Lou moaned and tried to roll her hips, but Debbie laid her hand on Lou’s right hip and massaged gently and firmly, stroking over her skin as Lou’s movements subsided.

“Still listening, baby?” Debbie asked as she hooked her fingers under the waistband of Lou’s boxers and tugged them down her legs.

“I’m listening, Debbie,” Lou replied quickly, kicking the underwear to the floor. Her voice was low and breathless, but she was looking at Debbie with something that went past arousal – something like adoration. It made butterflies erupt in Debbie’s stomach to know that her words and her touch could do this.

“When I’m with you,” Debbie continued, resting her head on the top of Lou’s left thigh and trailing her fingers up the inside of her opposite leg. “When I’m with you, I’m…_here_…one hundred percent. Fully present. _With_ you, baby.” She shifted up Lou’s body once more to hover her lips against Lou’s flushed cheek as her fingers finally, _finally _passed through wet heat – caressing, spreading, rubbing. 

Lou gave a shaky sort of half-moan, half-laugh as she turned her head to find Debbie’s lips. Debbie kissed her deeply, but briefly, pulling herself back after a moment as she slid two fingers into Lou and felt her entire body arch under her.

“I’ve never felt that before,” Debbie continued, thrusting her fingers to meet the rocking of Lou’s hips. “But I _want _to feel like that until the day I die.” 

Lou was panting now, looking at Debbie pleadingly, as though she longed to respond but couldn’t quite find her voice. She moaned instead, and Debbie felt her own body tauten at the sound, almost driven to her own release by the response she was coaxing from Lou.

“You’re my girl, Lou,” Debbie murmured through a sigh that raised goosebumps on Lou’s neck. Debbie pressed into Lou, curling her fingers and moving her palm against her in quick circles. “And I’m yours,” she said, looking straight into Lou’s eyes as she said it, forcing herself not to look away even though the intensity of Lou’s gaze was almost blinding. “I’m yours.”

Debbie saw a faint sheen of tears in Lou’s eyes as she cried out and quaked around Debbie’s fingers. Her cheeks and chest were flushed pink, her lips kiss-swollen. Lou’s left arm was wrapped around Debbie’s back, and she felt her fingers dig into her skin, sending another wave of warmth through her veins. Oh, she was perfect. 

“You’re beautiful,” Debbie murmured to Lou, flexing her fingers inside Lou and feeling her muscles twitch and clench. “You’re brilliant. You’re strong. You’re…mine.” She dropped her forehead to Lou’s shoulder and sighed. Lou’s arms wrapped around her back, and Debbie could feel her trembling with both aftershocks and emotion.

“I’m yours, Debs,” Lou murmured, her voice cracking. “I love you. I…I’m so proud of you for telling me.”

Debbie sighed, completely spent and relaxed. Her fingers were still buried inside Lou, and it took all of her energy to move enough to remove them. Lou shivered at the feeling and raised Debbie’s fingers to her own lips to lick them clean. Debbie watched her through eyelids that were refusing to remain completely open. Her own arousal was still buzzing through her blood, but she was far too sleepy to worry about that now. They had hours before they needed to get ready, and Lou’s skin was soft and smooth beneath her cheek. Her heart beat a steady, soothing rhythm…

**

Debbie awoke with her head still pillowed on Lou’s chest and Lou’s fingers gently massaging her scalp. The room was slightly brighter than it had been, but she could tell it was still quite early. Debbie felt light and happy. It didn’t matter what she said later that evening on the stage at Lou’s club. Lou _knew _it was hard, and Debbie loved her all the more for her understanding.

“Back with me, Jailbird?” Lou asked softly.

Debbie tilted her head to meet her eyes. “I’m with you,” she replied. “How long was I out?”

Lou shrugged and reached for the unfinished cup of tea on her bedside table. “Only about twenty minutes.” She sipped her tea with a very contented expression on her face.

“You excited, baby?” Debbie asked.

“To marry you? Of course,” Lou said, eyes twinkling. “To actually have to go through this _wedding_ thing?” She shrugged again. “I’m all for the dressing up and the champagne and the this-is-actually-legal part, which,” she mused, “is a bit ironic, given our careers.” Debbie hummed a noise of amused agreement. “But the talking and the dancing and the _ritual_…I don’t know.”

“Me neither,” Debbie agreed with a sigh.

“They’ll kill us if we don’t, though.” By “they,” Debbie knew Lou meant – at the very least – Tammy, Amita, and Daphne.

“I know,” Debbie groaned, burying her face in Lou’s chest and taking a deep breath. “Is there still time to elope?”

“_Debbie,_” Lou cautioned.

“I know, I _know_. I don’t mean it.” She raised her face once more to look at Lou with a smirk. “Can I at least see your clothes for toni—?”

“_No_, Debbie,” Lou said firmly, interrupting her.

“Worth a shot,” Debbie muttered dejectedly, though she felt her mouth twitch into a smile in spite of herself.

“It’s bad luck,” Lou said, extending her argument in a dignified tone.

Debbie yawned pointedly. “I don’t believe in luck.”

Lou scoffed. Debbie tried to keep a straight face. The truth was that she _did _believe in luck, or _coincidence_, and Lou knew it. It was luck that had led her to Lou in the first place. Luck was the final, tenuous aspect of any job – that was where the _risk_ came in, after all. And of course, Debbie had endured her share of bad luck, too – Claude, prison, losing Danny. All of it – good, bad, and everything in between – had conspired to put her here in this bed, in Lou’s arms, on _this _day. Lou’s right hand was clutching her cup of tea, but Debbie groped for her left hand and squeezed it tightly, running her thumb back and forth over Lou’s knuckles.

“I’d rather stay here all day,” she murmured.

“Wouldn’t you get _bored_, Ocean?” Lou said through a smirk. “That great mind of yours isn’t made for lazing around.”

“Hm, I think you’d keep me entertained,” Debbie replied with a teasing frown and a wink.

“Oh, _do _you?” Lou replied in a tone dripping with suggestion. “And what would _that _involve exactly?”

“I have a few ideas.”

“Interesting. So do I.” Lou put down her tea. 

“Care to elaborate?” Debbie tilted her head and raised her eyebrows. 

Lou ran a hand down Debbie’s back and unclasped her bra. “Turn over,” Lou suggested gently, digging the edge of her fingernail ever so slightly into Debbie’s skin as she ran the back of her hand up Debbie’s spine. Debbie felt goosebumps rise under the touch, and she shivered as she obeyed Lou’s request, settling her shoulders against the pillows.

Lou knelt between Debbie’s legs and ran her hands from her ankles to the tops of her thighs, where she tugged at the hem of Debbie’s underwear. Debbie lifted her hips, and Lou slid the lacy fabric to her ankles as Debbie slid the straps of her bra off her shoulders. Both garments landed haphazardly on the chair by the window, though Debbie barely noticed as Lou lowered her head between Debbie’s thighs, still looking up at her. There was a tightening and fluttering in Debbie’s core, and heat was pooling between her legs. Lou’s breath was hot over her newly exposed skin – so close, so close.

“Lift your legs, honey,” Lou said, light and inviting. It wasn’t an order, but somehow that made it all the more essential that Debbie obey. She slid her own hands behind her bent knees and pulled them towards her torso, opening herself to Lou. “Perfect,” Lou said, shifting to lie on her stomach and massaging her palms over the backs of Debbie’s thighs. Her hands were warm and soothing, and Debbie sighed at the touch. Lou’s eyes were still fixed on Debbie’s face, and they were shining. Debbie bit her lip.

Lou’s thumbs rubbed inwards, brushing Debbie’s rapidly dampening arousal and then gently spreading her skin. Debbie felt her eyelids flicker, feeling Lou’s breath over and around her entrance. Moaning softly at the feeling, she tried to keep her eyes open and fixed on Lou’s, her body rigid with anticipation. Her breaths were almost pants as she watched Lou inch closer. Her lips brushed over her, and Debbie whimpered through a sigh. Her fingers dug into the sensitive skin behind her knees, and she felt the muscles in her legs already beginning to shake. Lou moved with intention and purpose. Her fingers kept up a steady, firm massage as her tongue licked into Debbie. The warmth of her mouth made Debbie swoon. It felt as though all of her blood rushed between her legs, making her lightheaded with pleasure. She kept her eyes on Lou, losing track of everything else in a haze of sensation.

“Your _tongue_, baby,” Debbie gasped, “_Fuck_…so good…oh God…”

Lou sucked hard in response and winked cheekily up at her. Debbie almost laughed, but it came out as a shaky moan instead. Lou’s thumbs rubbed slow circles on either side of her entrance, and Debbie felt herself open even further to accommodate Lou’s tongue.

“I’m close,” Debbie muttered, “_So_ close, baby.” She had barely said the words before she felt herself begin to unravel. Her vision went blurry, but she still caught the expression of mingled awe and pride in Lou’s eyes as stars popped in front of her eyes. Lou licked over her in smooth strokes until Debbie finally let her feet fall back to the bed.

“_Christ_, Debs,” Lou said as she pulled her tongue away from Debbie at last, “you’re so beautiful when you come.”

“Well, you’re beautiful when you fuck me,” Debbie replied in a breathless attempt at her signature casual and impassive tone. She sat up and tugged Lou into a deep kiss, tasting herself on Lou’s lips and tongue and chin. Arousal buzzed through her veins once more at the taste, at the thought of marrying Lou today. _Today_.

“We should start getting ready,” Lou said in a reluctant tone, breaking the kiss many minutes later and running her fingers through Debbie’s hair and then down her arms. She held Debbie’s hands tightly in hers. As if on cue, Debbie heard the door open downstairs and the unmistakable sounds of six familiar voices and sets of footsteps filling the loft.

Debbie sighed, feeling slightly anxious once more. “Here we go,” she murmured, looking down at their entwined fingers.

“Hey,” Lou said, “It’ll be fine, Jailbird, okay?” Debbie looked up at her once more. “What you said earlier…,” Lou continued, “…it was _enough_. I promise, and…and I’ll be there with you the whole time, you know?”

Debbie smirked. “Every step of the way?” she asked slyly. Lou squeezed her fingers and seemed to take a moment to consider whether to respond with sarcasm or sincerity. Debbie watched as she ran her tongue over the inside of her cheek. 

“Always,” Lou said finally, in a firm and frank tone – no room for argument. She smiled at Debbie, whose heart beat faster. “Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the song with *all* the lyrics:  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz6mL1eyK4Q
> 
> ***
> 
> When I wrote this, I didn't know that, by the time I posted it, I would be getting married in a few weeks. A lot of what Debbie is feeling - her nerves and anxiety - is pretty much exactly where I'm at right now. Obviously, I didn't intend for this to be sort of autobiographical, but here we are. I hope you enjoy it! 
> 
> As always, thank you to go_get_your_top_hat for beta-ing. I love you so, so much. <3 <3 
> 
> ***
> 
> SERIES NOTE:
> 
> There will be 13 fics in this series, so please please subscribe to/bookmark the series in addition to the individual fics. I'm posting the stories in chronologically as they fall in Debbie and Lou's timeline, rather than in the track order from the album. The final installment will be posted next Thursday. There are pre-canon, film timeline, and post-canon works in this series, and it all fits with my Loubbie headcanon found in my other [non-AU] works.
> 
> It's fluffy and happy from here on out, folks! You made it through the angst. I did promise, didn't I? ;)
> 
> ***
> 
> If you have a minute, please leave kudos and comment! I seriously love hearing what you think. :) :) Thank you all so much for reading!


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